Hartley’s efforts help to leave lasting legacy

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Cal Hartley is a Senior here at Circle High School, who plays a huge role in our basketball team, but most importantly he is an outstanding student. Hartley eats, breathes and sleeps basketball. Ever since he was very young he fell in love with the sport. From the time he picked up a basketball he’s been great, always being the best on any team he played on. Although Cal is an amazing athlete, it didn’t come easy. Hartley has put in hours and hours of hard work and practice to get where he is today.

Hartley has been playing basketball since he was 5 years old, and his parents even said that he had been playing on a very small goal at the age of 2. Ever since he started playing, basketball has been his world, dedicating his life to the sport. His parents were very supportive, although they had a lot on their hands with Hartley’s two sisters Claire, 15, & Lola, 10, who both carry a rare disorder (Microcephaly) that has made it hard for the family to overcome their many obstacles. His parents made sure that he got to play the sport that he loved. His parents are very supportive of him and are both two very driven individuals, and those traits have been passed on to their son within school, basketball, and many other things in life.

After Hartley got his career started as a basketball player he instantly started putting in the hard work and effort. Recently he has been putting in over 25 hours of practice a week, making it a priority to perfect his skills. During the offseason Hartley tries to practice 3-4 hours a day, and even more during the summer. Practice is a big part of the sport for him, because he knows that putting in this effort is the best way to become a great basketball player.

Once Hartley made it to high school, the second he stepped on the court everyone knew that he would be something big. His freshman year he did not start although he did play varsity, and sophomore year he made it to the starting line up. He has always been one of the leading scorers on every team he’s played on. This year he has averaged 25 points per game, and although he has this superstar reputation, he stays humble and stills strives to do better no matter what. This season he hit his career total of 1,000 points, which is one of the biggest milestones you can reach as a high school basketball player.

“I was very excited when I scored my 1,000 point, it was a big accomplishment and I’m just super glad to see that all of my hard work has finally paid off,” Hartley said of his record breaking performance.

Cal was asked who is favorite coach was and he was quick to say that his dad was the best coach he had ever had on and off the court. Hartley’s dad did everything he could in order to make his son a successful athlete and showed him a lot of what he knows today. His dad helped him put in the extra work, because Cal wanted to be the best, and his dad wanted him to be the best too.

Hartley has very close friends and teammates, and they make a great team together. They’ve been playing together since they were young and will continue to be lifelong friends, whether they play together after high school or not.

“The best part for me playing at Circle was making all of my friends, and creating bonds with the coaches and my teammates. The most important part of a team is to have good relationships and all of us had that,” Hartley said.

Hartley hasn’t committed to any colleges quite yet, but he has been approached by NAIA, JUCO’s, and a few Division II schools. He has yet to decide where he would like to go, but he believes he has a strong chance at getting a scholarship. He has not yet decided what he would like to do as a career, as basketball is his main focus for now and he will decide later on what he would like to do.